Organize Your Dining Room
Whether it is used once a year or every day, learn how to organize your dining room so you can actually use it for dining.
A common issue in many households is that the dining room becomes an all-purpose room...kids use it for doing homework, parents use it for reading the newspaper, and because the table is such a large, flat surface it is a definite clutter magnet.
Organize Your Dining Room
Declutter
As with organizing any room, the first step will be to declutter your dining room. Start by removing everything from the room that is not used for dining. If these items belong in another room in the house, bring them to the room where they belong. If they are unwanted items, bring them to Clutter Central.
Keep decorative items to a minimum. Decorative items get dusty. The last thing you want in a room where you will be serving food is a bunch of dusty decorations. Remember that the goal is to make your life easier. It is a lot easier to keep your dining room clean when you minimize the decor.
Organize Your Dining Room
The Clean Sweep
Now that you have all of the clutter out of the way, give your dining room a thorough cleaning:
Vacuum thoroughly or wash the floors. Empty the china cabinet and wipe down all the shelves, drawers and cabinets.
Wash the windows. Put window curtains in the dryer to remove dust. Wash the light fixture. Wipe down the table and chairs. Clean all decorative items you have decided to keep in the room.
Now that you have decluttered, cleaned and organized your dining room, it's time for some simple maintenance to help you keep it that way. How you maintain your dining room really depends on how you use it. Following are tips for both a formal dining room and a casual dining room.
Organize Your Dining Room
The Formal Dining Room
Don't let your formal dining room become an out-of-sight-out-of-mind clutter trap. Just because the room is not used very often does not mean that you should use it for a storage room.
Get into the habit of putting items where they belong, instead of just tossing them into the dining room. Do not let things pile up in your dining room.
Also, you will need to recognize problems and find solutions. For example, if you read the newspaper at your dining room table, you might have a pile of newspapers on your dining room floor. A solution might be to place a decorative recycle bin nearby to keep your newspaper pile under control.
Dining room storage can also become a clutter hazard. If your dining room cabinet has become overstuffed and unsightly, here are a few tips to keep it organized.
Do not overstuff the display area - this will only make the cabinet look messy which will translate into your dining room looking messy. Reserve the display area for your favorite pieces. Store the remainder of your dinnerware in the cabinets or drawers. Store tablecloths, placemats and table runners neatly in drawers or in baskets inside cabinets. If you have napkins and napkin rings that coordinate with a particular tablecloth, keep the sets together in zippered plastic bags like the ones new sheet sets come in.
As long as you remove the clutter from your formal dining room you should be able to easily keep this room clean. Simply go through it at least once per week and follow the steps listed above for a thorough cleaning.
Organize Your Dining Room
The Casual Dining Room
If you use your dining room on a more casual, daily basis, it can get cluttered fairly easily.
Your kids might do their homework at the table and leave their books and papers spread out. You may use the table to read the newspaper and then stash it in a pile in the corner when you are done.
Any flat surface is a prime suspect for gathering clutter, so the focus of organizing the casual dining room is going to be on the dining room table.
Determine the ways in which you use your dining room table and then establish some rules to keep it clean.
If your kids use the table for homework, make a rule that all books and papers must be returned to their book bags when they are done. If you use the dining room table for reading the newspaper, keep a newspaper basket in the dining room to place the papers in when you are done. When the basket gets full recycle the newspapers. If you use your table for paying bills or doing paper work, keep the necessary papers in a tray that can easily be stored away in a nearby drawer when you are done.
Creating simple solutions to keeping your dining room free from clutter will make it a more enjoyable room to be in.
Be sure to keep your casual dining room clean too. Follow the steps above for a thorough cleaning at least once per week.
No matter how you use it, free your dining room from clutter, keep it clean and organized and enjoy using it for its intended purpose - to enjoy wonderful meals with your family.
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